1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to active and passive safety testing for automotive vehicles. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to moving obstacles which can be guided along a determined route by an external guidance system prior to being impacted or bypassed by the test vehicles during the safety testing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art of safety testing for automotive vehicles, it is known to provide obstacles (sometimes called “dummies”) which are impacted by the testing vehicle. However, in the prior art, these obstacles are typically stationary, or are otherwise statically placed, such as flat on the floor with the ability to rise or otherwise to extend thereby forming an obstacle when the test vehicle approaches.
Moving obstacles have been provided by attaching them directly onto a secondary vehicle which is driven by a human driver. Similarly, obstacles have been towed by a secondary vehicle driven by a human driver. Similarly, obstacles have been mounted on a radio or cable-controlled carrier wherein the movement of the obstacles is remote-controlled by a human operator. In all cases, the route of the obstacle is directly controlled by a human in real-time.